Wildlife in Sumatra

There are 11 national parks on Sumatra, several of which are UNESCO-listed and protected by the WWF. The best-known – and the one that features on practically every Sumatra vacation itinerary – is Gunung Leuser National Park. Over 150km long and 100km wide, this mountainous park lies a little to the east of Medan, the main point of entry to Sumatra, and is regarded as one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth.

However, like so many other protected natural areas in this part of the world, Sumatra’s parks are threatened by rampant deforestation, much of it illegal, and Gunung Leuser is certainly no exception. In fact, around 12 million hectares of Sumatran forest are thought to have been cleared away over the past 20 years or so, which equates to a loss of around 50 percent. The impact on Sumatra’s wildlife is, of course, just as destructive.

Habitat loss, through illegal logging and palm oil production, combined with poaching, has left many species – including Sumatran orangutans, elephants, rhinos and tigers – critically endangered. Every Sumatra vacation that includes an element of wildlife-watching in the island’s national park helps convince the Indonesian government and local communities that these habitats and animals have value and should be protected.

But while the ‘old man of the forest’ is the star of vacations in Sumatra, it’s also far from the only wildlife that you’re likely to see in Gunung Leuser National Park. The trees chatter with pigtail and long-tailed macaques, the endemic Thomas leaf monkeys, big-hootered proboscis gibbons, hornbills and many other species of flappers such as flying fox bats.

Closer to ground level there are wild peacocks, monitor lizards, clouded leopards and sun bears. Sumatran tigers and rhinos are elusive, and few and far between. It’s not impossible, but highly unlikely, that you will glimpse one. There are thought to be no more than around 600 tigers left in the Sunda Islands, and they are all on Sumatra. The Sumatran elephant, smallest of the Asian species, is even fewer in number – around 300. Some are used by rangers for jungle patrols, and you can see them in the village of Tangahan on the border of Gunung Leuser.

As you walk, your guides may also point out plants that are used by tribes for traditional medicines, as well as poisonous plants. The value of using local Sumatran guides cannot be overstated in understanding the rainforest and its flora and fauna – as well as not getting lost!